Rising from the ashes
by Pinkpivee
Summary: Ashe, a siren working for Hyperion, had been waiting for Rhys to come back from Pandora for a while. So why was he trying to avoid her? What secret was he trying to hide so he would behave so strangely? Finding out would only be the beginning...
1. Chapter 1

Note:

This story happens in what you could call a parallel world. I try to stick to the characters personalities as much as I can, and this story includes a fictional character, a siren called Ashe.

Any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated! I write mostly for myself but trying to improve my style.

Enjoy!

"They should be here any minute now."

Ashe had been waiting for a few hours now, and she was growing impatient. She had been nervous since Rhys had gone on his mission. Even for "routine" missions, she was always feeling nervous when he was going out of the Hyperion HQ.

Rhys had been on a mission for a few weeks, touring different factories on Pandora to make sure everything was running smoothly and that production was running as efficiently as it could. A "boring task that still needed to be done", as he tended to say himself.

Ashe never liked having Rhys so far away from her. Sure, he would have loader bots to escort and protect him, but Pandora was still a dangerous place. And Rhys wasn't exactly a fighter. If only she could have been authorised to go with him, she would have kept him safe. After all, she was a siren. And a powerful one.

Her stomach was tensing up each second, she was so anxious she was forcing herself to take deep breaths. She was getting dizzy as she kept holding her breath without even realising it. She hadn't heard from Rhys since he had left, which was unusual.

"I hope nothing happ- Rhys!"

The door had just opened to let Rhys and his escort in. Vaughn, Rhys' best friend, was already at his side.

She rushed to Rhys, ready to jump in his arms. But instead of welcoming her warmly as he usually would, he addressed her a weak smile.

"Rhys, is everything alright?" she asked.

"It's fine, Ashe." Answered Vaughn. "He just needs to rest."

"Did something happen?" she enquired, growing even more worried.

"I'm good." Said Rhys. "We just got attacked by bandits on the way back. I'm just a bit shaken. I'll see you when I'm feeling better."

As the two men disappeared around the corner, Ashe was left in confusion. Since when was Rhys admitting a weakness? Attacked by bandits? He looked perfectly fine, his suit was intact and Vaughn wasn't panicking as he would have done if Rhys had been attacked by bandits.

Vaughn and Rhys had both tried to hurry and leave as soon as they could. Ashe had noticed a few looks between the friends. Maybe it wasn't very important, maybe Hyperion had some affairs that she wasn't allowed to know about.

But if there was one thing that Ashe hated, it was to be kept in the dark. Since Rhys and Vaughn were being so secretive, she would go see someone who wouldn't mind sharing a bit too much.

She decided to go see Vazquez.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhys was hurrying down the corridors, forcing his friend Vaughn to jog intermittently to keep up with him. Vaughn was looking around him, as if he was being followed.

"Vaughn, would you please stop that?" grumbled Rhys.

"Is he here?" asked Vaughn with a small voice.

"No."

Although the two men appeared alone in this section of Helios, Vaughn did not seem reassured by Rhys' answer.

"What are you going to do? What are WE going to do?" whispered Vaughn.

Rhys shrugged. He was exhausted, famished, afraid and angry. He was having the most surreal time of his life, but at this point, all he was wishing for was to remove his skag leather boots and lie in his bed.

Vaughn started mumbling to himself. Rhys couldn't make out all the words, but for what he could understand, Vaughn was trying to figure out what the hell was happening. If only he knew.

The truth was, Rhys has been back from his mission the day before. He hadn't told anyone but his friend Vaughn. He needed someone he could trust but was too confused by what was happening to him to tell Ashe.

After a few minutes spent in silence, the two friends had reached Rhys' quarters.

"Look, we'll figure out what to do. For now, act as normal as possible." Said Rhys.

Vaughn nodded, a terrified look on his face.

"And don't tell anyone." Rhys added. "Not Ashe, not Yvette. No one must know for now."

"We should talk to Nakayama" suggested Vaughn.

Rhys agreed. If someone could help him, it would be Nakayama. The professor was a strange man but he was a brilliant scientist. He could help. At least that's what Rhys hoped.

After saying goodbye to his friend, Rhys entered his quarters and jumped on his bed, only taking the time to remove in boots. He was trying to make sense of what had happened on Pandora.

Rhys was on a routine mission, one of these boring middle-management tasks that Rhys had to carry out himself. He wished he could just delegate such tasks but he wasn't high enough in the Hyperion power chain.

Rhys and his escort had found some old research material by accident "the Gortys project". Rhys didn't get the chance to have a good look at what it was exactly.

He had found a dusty and dark room in one of the facilities he was visiting on Pandora. Everybody assumed it was an old storage room and never even bothered to check what was inside. Rhys' duties had forced him to check all rooms so he had opened the door.

Inside, he found what looked like a research lab. His attention was grabbed by the words "Gortys Project" on the wall. He quickly noticed a strange artefact on a table in the centre of the room. The item was faintly glowing. Rhys picked it up.

A wave of energy ran up his robotic arm; shocking all his body. The impact was so strong that Rhys' muscles jerked and he fell on his knees. He was feeling an intense and sharp pain focused on his implant, on his temple.

Rhys instinctively touched his temple, remembering the pain he felt then. It was so intense that he had fainted. What followed just seemed too crazy to be true. Nevertheless, he had rushed back to Helios, sharing his secret with his best friend Vaughn.

Rhys couldn't fall asleep. He could hear the loud and fast rhythm of his own heart and it was only making him more nervous.

At this time, a shimmery blue silhouette appeared in the room, lighting it with a soft glow. Rhys jumped at the vision, once again.

The man was facing Rhys, arms crossed, a sneer on his face.

"Having a tough day, pumpkin?"


	3. Chapter 3

"And close the door, would you?"

Ashe slammed the door with all her strength. She stared at it for a second before turning around and stomping away. She was furious. Vazquez had been – once again – most unhelpful. Too taken in another business deal, the Hyperion CEO had claimed that he "could not care less of what happened to Rhys" and that he didn't even know, since Rhys needed to type a report. Ashe knew he didn't didn't like Rhys and was barely hiding it.

As she was leaving the CEO's office corridor, she noticed a picture on her left. It was a picture of the former Hyperion CEO, Handsome Jack, armed crossed and a smug look on his face.

Ashe had never met Handsome Jack. She had arrived just after he was killed by vault hunters, 2 years ago. As she was walking towards her quarters, her mind wandered. She was wondering if everything she had heard about Handsome Jack was true.

For all she knew, Jack was an ambitious man, respected and feared by all his employees. He had… personal methods of dealing with problems and killing was one of them. The thought of Vazquez trying to do the same thing made her smile. She wasn't scared of the current CEO. The threat of using her powers was usually enough to scare him.

She finally reached her quarters and started getting ready for bed. All the stress of the day had exhausted her, and her short meeting with Vazquez had taken the little energy she had left.

As she was brushing her long silver hair, she thought again about the portrait in the hall. It was true that Jack was handsome. He looked like Rhys. Or was it Rhys that looked like him? She wasn't sure and at this time of the day, she didn't care.

When she woke up, she was feeling a bit better. Now Rhys was back on Helios, she had no reason to worry anymore. She was going to see him and they could finally catch up, just the two of them.

After quickly getting ready, she decided to head over Rhys' office, hoping to catch him before work. As she turned around a corner, she caught sight of him.

"Rhys!" she called.

Rhys jumped at the mention of his name and turned around. He didn't seem particularly comfortable seeing Ashe at this time of the day.

Ashe slowly approached Rhys and leaned to softly kiss him. Rhys tensed up but didn't move.

"I was hoping I could see you before work" she said.

"Hey, I- I don't have much time, you know" answered Rhys, visibly nervous.

Ashe slid her hands around his shoulders, holding onto his upper back. She pulled him gently and pushed her body closer to his. She kissed him again, longer this time. Rhys seemed to relax a bit and give in to the affection she was showing.

Ashe felt a heat wave through her body. She hadn't seen Rhys for weeks. Rhys was clearly responding to her advances as well. He pulled her hips closer to his.

She ran her lips on Rhys' neck. His breath was getting heavier and she could feel his heart strongly pounding in his chest.

Suddenly, Rhys froze. He jumped as if he had been caught by someone and pulled away.

"Y-you know, I-I can't do this. Not now. N-Not here!" he stammered.

Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"Your office is not far." she said, playfully.

Rhys shook his head, as if he was trying to come back to reason.

"I have an important report to write" he insisted. "Vazquez needs it!"

Ashe was confused and disappointed. She could clearly see he wasn't indifferent to her. After all this time separated, all he wanted to do was writing a report for Vazquez? This was clearly not what Ashe had expected.

Rhys mumbled a few excuses and quickly walked away. The young siren stood there, not sure if she was going to cry or punch a wall. Something was odd. Rhys was not himself. It was time to ask Vaughn.


	4. Chapter 4

Rhys rushed towards his office and closed the door behind him. He was trying to ignore the shimmery blue silhouette following him.

As Rhys was finally catching his breath, the silhouette of Handsome Jack went through the door.

"Hey, wait up Pumpkin! So that was your girlfriend back there? Nice little a-"

"You couldn't just stay put for five minutes?" interrupted Rhys.

Jack chuckled. He had appeared just as Rhys was managing to forget his "situation" and enjoy his time with Ashe.

"Agh, don't take it like that Rhysie." Said Jack, visibly amused. "You know, I would have enjoyed a bit of action. Man, it's been a while!"

Rhys was clearly not as cheerful as Jack was. He was embarrassed the former CEO had seen him in a state of arousal and was still not sure if Jack could share feeling while he was in… his head? The young man was not sure exactly where Jack's hologram was stored and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Rhys sat at his desk, holding his head with both his hands. He felt trapped. He wanted to act as if everything was normal but things were definitely NOT. And had he told the truth, everyone would probably think he was crazy. After all, how could he be seeing Handsome Jack? He had been dead for two years!

Giving up on the idea of working, he went out his office again, well decided to speak to Professor Nakamura.

"Where you going now?" asked Jack, still at Rhys' side.

"We need to know more about what is going on." whispered Rhys. Even if the corridor was empty, he didn't want to have any bad surprise.

"Yeah." Jack agreed, which surprised Rhys. It was the first time Jack had every said anything positive about what he was doing. "I don't actually get what is going on either. I mean, you said I was dead but clearly I'm still here!"

"You're a hologram." Cautiously said Rhys.

He had tried to explain to Jack his situation, but even him wasn't quite sure. He assumed it had something to do with the artefact he had touched, and the "Gortys Project". Nakamura had access to secret projects, surely he would know.

Rhys entered the professor's office without knocking, too preoccupied to care about social conventions. The professor was reading a document, tapping the side of his head with a pen, as if he was trying to remember something.

"Professor Nakamura?"

The professor looked up. He didn't seem too happy to be disturbed.

"What?" he rudely said.

Rhys felt his stomach tying into a knot. He wasn't sure where to start, the only person he had told was Vaughn and the conversation had not particularly gone smoothly. Vaughn had first thought that Rhys had hit his head or something like that.

"I have something important to tell you." Simply said Rhys.

The professor didn't seem impressed. He remained silent, still staring at the young man.

"About Handsome Jack." Rhys added.

Nakamura smiled, showing a chair. He was now clearly a lot more interested in what Rhys had to say.

The young man tried to be as thorough and clear as possible. He mentioned the lab he discovered, the Gortys Project and the artefact. When he started talking about the hologram, the professor's eyes started to tinkle.

Nakamura had numerous questions for Rhys, which he tried to answer as well as he could.

"Would you mind if I examined you?" asked the professor. "Running a few tests will help us understand what is exactly happening."

Rhys agreed.

"Hey, anybody cares about my opinion?"

Jack was standing behind the professor, arms crossed.

As the professor could not hear Jack, Rhys decided to ignore him.

Nakamura stood up and invited Rhys to join him.

"Follow me, please."


	5. Chapter 5

Ashe had been looking for Vaughn for over an hour and had failed to find him so far.

"He must be hiding under his desk or something." she told herself.

Since she couldn't waste any more time, she decided she would go to a training room to see what new skills she could develop. She felt she was a powerful siren but mastering her powers was a relatively new thing to her and she kept on training regularly.

But as she was going to take the elevator, someone called for her.

"Ashe, where the hell have you been?"

Ashe turned around to see Vazquez. He looked pissed off and had obviously been running around, judging by the shine on his face and the fact that he was slightly out of breath.

"I hope you were on your way to meet with the team…" continued Vazquez.

"Team..?" started Ashe.

Her mouth stayed open when she realised she had completely forgotten she had an escort mission on Pandora that day. She had been too busy thinking about Rhys' odd behaviour.

"I-I'm going there straight away!"

She quickly apologized and rushed to meet the team she was supposed to escort and protect for an important business transaction on Pandora.

Ashe hated Pandora. She had spent most of her life on the planet and life had not been kind to her. She had lost her parents at a young age and had been on her own pretty much ever since, randomly teaming up with bandits or mercenaries when needed.

Hyperion's invitation to work for them had been a relief. At that time, she would have given anything to leave Pandora. And if it meant she could kick some vault hunters' asses at the same time, that would just be an added bonus.

The business deal she had to cover was nothing she couldn't handle. Vazquez was regularly using her as a bodyguard when large sums of money were involved. She didn't really mind, as it was making her feel somewhat powerful.

She stepped out of the car, visibly bored by the uneventful trip.

"Well, well, look who's here."

A woman with hair like fire and tattoos over her body approached her, visibly amused.

"Lilith." Simply said Ashe.

"Fancy meeting you here!" she laughed. She noticed the Hyperion badge on Ashe's chest and nodded in its direction. "Didn't know you worked for Hyperion now."

Ashe didn't answer.

"Anyway." Continued Lilith. "Looks like we're both here for this business deal so let's just get on with it eh?"

Ashe nodded and one of the Hyperion soldiers stepped forward, a suitcase in hand. One of the men accompanying Lilith did the same and they quickly exchanged the suitcase. They stepped away to each check the content of what they had been given. All men were standing ready, a hand on their guns.

Lilith was staring at Ashe, who was trying not to show any sign of emotion.

"So… how have you been?" Carefully asked Lilith.

"Not too bad. Still training."

"Good, good." Lilith ran her fingers in her bright ginger hair.

The Hyperion confirmed that the money was there and that they could leave. The man in Lilith's team confirmed they were good to go as well.

"Be careful with that technology." Warned Ashe. "I wouldn't just give it to anyone."

"But, you just did." Mockingly said Lilith.

Ashe shrugged. "I'm just following orders, that doesn't mean I approve." She turned around and shouted to the soldiers "Let's move guys, we've been on that piece of rock long enough."

She quickly glanced at Lilith before disappearing in the black SUV. Lilith was the last person she was expecting to see, and she clearly could have done without that little surprise.

Ashe was relieved to once again leave Pandora, more than happy to leave this part of her life behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Rhys was sitting behind his desk, a concerned look on his face. Vaughn dragged a chair and sat down as well.

"So, there's nothing he can do?" he asked.

Rhys sighed. "I'm not sure. Nakamura said he couldn't reveal much for now because nothing is certain. But he said this situation should be temporary."

"Hallelujah! Finally some good news!"

Rhys jumped when Jack appeared next to his desk, visibly happy by what he had just heard.

"Seriously, no offense but there's no way I'm going to stay with you forever." Jack added.

Rhys signalled to Vaughn that Jack had appeared in the room, which didn't seem to help his friend relax.

"There's no way you can hide this from Yvette or Ashe!" Squealed Vaughn. "Ashe already thinks something is up. Colleagues in Finance told me she had been looking for me today!"

"Yeah Rhys," added Jack. "You can't stay away from that siren much longer huh? I've seen what's going on in that little head of yours."

Jack burst out laughing.

"Hilarious." Said Rhys. "Jack's having the time of his life." He added, noticing the confused look on Vaughn's face.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I can't avoid Ashe forever, and neither can you." Vaughn looked at his watch and stood up. "I've got an important budget meeting, I have to go."

He rushed to the door and turned around. "Hang in there, buddy." he quickly said before disappearing in the corridor.

"Yeah." sighed Rhys, resting is head on the back of his comfy leather chair.

Jack went ahead to sit on the chair Vaughn had just left. Rhys still did not understand how he could decide when to go through things and when not to.

"So, what now Rhysie?" Asked Jack.

"Nakamura told us to just sit tight while he figures something out." Answered Rhys, closing his eyes.

"Oh no, no, no, no.." started Jack, a massive grin on his face. "I've got a better idea. Don't worry, that'll cheer you up too."

Jack slowly lifted his left arm, and Rhys' right armed followed the movement. Rhys felt his heart jumping in his chest, in eyes and mouth wide open.

"What the hell? Are YOU doing that?"

"Yup." Simply said Jack.

Jack made Rhys' arm rest on his chest before sliding downwards until reaching for his crotch.

"S-stop that!" ordered Rhys, a flush on his cheeks.

Jack laughed almost hysterically. "HA! Don't worry princess, this is just a warm up."

"W-what?"

Jack didn't answer, his silhouette disappearing in a swirl of glowing blue particles. Rhys felt a painful warmth at his temple. His body started shutting down, and when Rhys understood what was happening, it was too late.

Jack had taken control.


	7. Chapter 7

Ashe was lying down on the couch, in her quarters. She was reflecting back on what had happened on Pandora with Lilith. Not much had actually happened, but it had

As she was lost in her thoughts, somebody knocked on the door.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"Rhys."

She slowly sat up, sighing heavily. "Come in."

Rhys opened the door and came in. He had a smile Ashe had never seen on his face before. It reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite place who. She quickly stood up, trying to avoid Rhys' eyes.

"Want coffee?"

Without giving Rhys the time to answer, she rushed to the small table where she kept her kettle. She didn't hear Rhys' steps getting closer and jumped when she felt his hands on her hips.

Rhys was now standing just behind her, his breath warming up the back of her neck. As he gently pulled her hips closer to his, she felt a growing bulge in Rhys' pants.

"Let me guess. No coffee?"

"No."

She turned around, staying as close as she could from the young man. She noticed the intensity of lust in Rhys' eyes, something she had never seen before.

He leant in to kiss her, almost devouring her mouth. Ashe was surprised by the almost animalistic behaviour of her lover, but she wasn't complaining. She quickly matched the intensity of her partner, her hands looking to get rid of the layers of clothes between them.

Rhys' movements were firm, rougher than usual. Ashe liked the confidence and powerful manliness emanating from him. On previous occasions, she tended to have the upper hand, but she was thoroughly enjoying Rhys' sudden change of behaviour.

After a short while, Rhys grabbed her firmly and turned her around. He put a hand on the top of her back and pushed her against the table, not enough to hurt her but firmly enough to make her understand what he wanted.

Ashe moaned in anticipation, opening her legs to invite him. She felt the head of Rhys' cock rubbing against her lips and slowly entering her intimacy. A more powerful thrust and Rhys was now completely inside her. She extended her arms further on the table, to make sure she could handle the newly found strength of the young man.

Rhys started slowly at first, enjoying the back and forth of his dick and the moans it would trigger. The young man strengthened his grip of Ashe's hips and he increased the intensity and speed of his thrusts.

Ashe felt a growing warmth in her lower abdomen, and as Rhys' groans and movements reached a peak, a tingling wave of pleasure ran through her body. She let a loud whine escape her mouth, soon joined by her lover.

Rhys froze as she felt him release inside of her. They stayed a few seconds in this position, catching their breath. They shortly parted and Ashe started gathering her clothes. Rhys stretched, smiling.

"God, that was good! Thanks for that kiddo."

Ashe looked at him, confused. "Kiddo?"

"Hum. Yeah. Ashe. I meant Ashe."

The siren raised an eyebrow. That whole attitude was really starting to ring a bell now. But she still wasn't sure.

Rhys was now also starting to gather his clothes. "So, how about that cup of coffee, pumpkin?"

It was then that Ashe realised. She had seen the promotional video and memorabilia at her arrival at Hyperion and she knew there was only one person that could use the word "pumpkin" to talk to people.

"Jack?"

The young man turned towards her, recognising his name.

"Handsome Jack?"


	8. Chapter 8

"What about Handsome Jack?"

Rhys, locked out of his own self, was witnessing, powerless, as Ashe was confronting Jack. If the man didn't seem concerned, Rhys was silently panicking.

"You're behaving like Handsome Jack." Ashe insisted.

"So, got a problem with that?" answered Jack, dismissively.

Ashe crossed her arms, a deep frown on her face. Rhys was fighting as hard as he could to regain control of his body but Jack's grip was too strong. He decided to ignore Jack and Ashe for a while and focus.

He felt like he was standing outside of a huge steel door. No matter how hard he tried to push, the door wouldn't budge. Surely, there was something he could do! Maybe if he could get Jack's attention and distract him, he could take over…

Rhys was mortified by what Jack had done. He had taken advantage of him and could not go on – who knows what else the man could do?

"Look, I don't see how I could be Handsome Jack. I know I'm friggin' handsome…"

"You're just not yourself!"

Ashe looked beyond upset. She had wrapped herself up in a blue blanket. She looked ashamed and on the verge of crying. Rhys felt his heart breaking to see her like this.

Jack didn't seem to care as much. If Ashe wasn't standing right in front of the door, he would probably have left already. But Ashe was in the way and even Jack knew that you had better than try to get past a siren.

"DO SOMETHING you asshole!" In the back of his own head, Rhys was screaming. Anything to get Jack's attention.

He didn't have to wait long before he got Jack's answer. "Fine. You fix it."

Rhys suddenly felt like he was sucked into something, he felt electricity and pain running through his body and before he could understand it, he was back at the commands of his body, staring at his very upset girlfriend.

Rhys had no choice; he had to tell her. She probably wouldn't believe him, but he had to try anyway. What did he have to lose?

"Look, Ashe..." He started. "Sit down. I have to tell you something."

Ashe slowly moved away from the door, a wary look on her face. She carefully sat down on the couch, her eyes following Rhys as he was doing the same.

"First, promise me that you will listen until I'm finished. Don't say anything until I tell you I'm done."

Ashe silently nodded.

"And secondly, promise me you won't think I'm crazy."

Rhys took a deep breath.

"Handsome Jack is in my head."


End file.
